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Old 06-22-2006, 07:09 PM   #9
blue2000s
Porscheectomy
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Seattle Area
Posts: 3,011
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtch
A note on drag coefficient differential between top up and down. I went cruising top up a couple months ago and pulled from 70-148 using 4th and 5th gears. The car pulled hard and felt like it had plenty left when I let off. A couple of weeks ago, I tried the same pull and could not get above about 128 top down. I pushed to redline and could not climb any more. Not only would it not climb as high, it took much longer to get there.

At one time, I knew the equations for relationships between hp, vehicle speed and drag coefficient. I don't know anymore, and I'm to lazy to look them up, but experiencing the difference was astonishing to me
It's not a really simple formula. It also has to include the rolling resistance of the tires, which varies from tire to tire and you'd have to know what the wind was doing.

Last edited by blue2000s; 06-22-2006 at 07:38 PM.
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